Fahad bin Mohammed Al-Attiya is faced with a daunting task: he needs to make sure that Qatar can become self-sufficient by 2030, the year Qatar’s “National Vision” would be realized. It’s daunting because his country, one of the world’s richest due to gas revenue, averages only 74mm of precipitation (rain) per year. It is one of the driest spots on Earth. So, they survive by importing 93% of their food and desalinating almost 100% of their water. As chairman of the National Food Security Program, he is tasked with making a garden out of their desert of a country.

Chairing the COP18/CMP8

In line with the Kyoto Protocol, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’s Conference of the Parties had been meeting every year since 1995. In its 18th year, Fahad gets to chair the convention in Doha, the capital of Qatar.

It was not free from controversy, as Qatar is said to be one of the leading countries of high carbon emissions because natural gas is their main source of revenue. But for Fahad, hosting the COP18/CMP8 would make their stand clear on the issue of climate change. Carbon emissions make the world hotter, and cause dry places like Qatar to become drier; cooperating with the rest of the world will be the key to addressing Qatar’s food insecurity.

Qatar’s Lack of Food and Water

Qatar is now home to 2 million people, although Qataris only comprise 13% of the population, or about 300,000 people. Before natural gas was discovered in 1939, Qatar was not a nation; its nomadic people roamed the desert to look for water. Communities did not exist because resources were too scarce.

In his TED Talk, Fahad tells the story of his father and mother having dissimilar accents. This was due to people not sticking together for lack of natural resources, and thus developing different dialects. Since the 1940s, the population has increased drastically as their economic capacity has increased by 15% every year. From having an average lifespan of only 50 years old, Qataris’ improved quality-of-life has brought it up to 78 years old.

This economic boost also resulted in higher demand for food and water. As they are a rich country, investing in technology was not a problem. Qatar also desalinates almost 100% of its water. Before the population began to expand rapidly, the much smaller Qatari population depended on aquifers for water; as they earned more income, the country was able to develop state-of-the-art technology to make water scarcity a thing of the past.

But for how long can they elude the water and food crises? As their population keeps growing, they depend more on imported goods. Their land is all dunes – it’s impossible to farm, save for a small part of the country where it can be done at a push. They are still not self-sufficient, even with the help of technology. To grow their own food, they must be able to fertilize their land and have better access to water.

Fahad’s role as the Director of the National Food Security Program is to ensure that Qatar will be ready to grow its own food by 2030, sixteen years from now. So far, two years of research have proven that they can desalinate water using hectares of solar panels so they need not use precious oil and put their monetary security in peril. This will be sustainable and environmentally-friendly at the same time.

Some experts frown at his optimism, claiming it would be wiser to simply invest in growing food where land is already fertile; such has been the practice of other Middle Eastern countries. But Fahad is adamant that he will not only solve his country’s dilemma, but also become a role model for other Arab countries by “putting resources on research.” He is out to prove that, with proper equipment and a heavy dose of courage, they can liberate themselves from food and water scarcity.

Fahad served in the Royal Military Academy from 1998 to 1999. He completed his law degree from the University of Westminster, and served as a Legal Advisor in the Office of His Highness the Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar.

Organizations and Programs Supported

National Food Security Program

Legislation Council of Qatar

State of Qatar’s Permanent Water Resource Committee

Qatar 2022 National Legacy Committee

Board of Governors for the World Water Council

COP18/CMP8

National Vision 2030

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

Kyoto Protocol

Conference of the Parties

NAMAs (Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Action)

Global Dry Land Alliance

Awards and Achievements

1998-1999: Served in the Royal Military Academy

2005: Completed his law degree at the University of Westminster

2008: Began serving as Chairman of Qatar’s National Food Security Program

Serves as member of the Legislation Council of Qatar

Served as the Chairman of the Higher Organizing Sub-Committee for COP18/CMP8

Served as a Legal Advisor in the Office of His Highness the Heir Apparent of the State of Qatar

Ronny Edry describes himself as a father, a husband, a teacher, and an Israeli. What is he doing in theXtraordinary? Well, he started the Israel Loves Iran initiative by posting a photo of himself carrying his daughter who was holding an Israeli miniature flag. The caption read “Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We [heart] you.” For the first time in his Facebook life, Ronny’s post was shared and liked by many of his friends. Soon, he was talking to Iranians who agreed to post their images to reciprocate the message with “Iran [heart] Israel.”

So Ronny Edry started a campaign for peace. He thought, if leaders advertise war, then nothing should stop him from advertising peace. After all, he is only advocating the truth. As far as Ronny is concerned, war was invented by leaders and those in authority to distract people from their everyday worries. If there’s war then no one would be able to focus on the real problems within the country. What’s even better for politicians is that they stay in power.

It’s sad to think that the world has come to such a state where power takes precedence over anything else. Where’s justice in a world where innocent lives are cut short because of war? Some say for peace to arise, war has to happen. Then how come peace remains elusive after our war-laden history?

Ronny refused to stay silent. He used a weapon he knows best. A small act of defiance created a ripple effect. What he declared as his personal stand spoke to others and touched their hearts, prompting them to join him in his call for peace. Cynics call it slacktivism, the kind that gets viral because it doesn’t entail for one to do much except pushing buttons to help spread the word. But for what it’s worth, Ronny Edry’s Israel Loves Iran campaign proves that humanity is not as depraved as what the media or leaders depict us to be.

To be fair with Ronny, he has been working hands-on all day long making posters and creating network. It doesn’t hurt amplifying his call for change, considering that what he is calling for is something good. We could all use some positive news every now and then. One coming from Israel is really a breath of fresh air.

Who is Ronny Edry?

Ronny Edry is an Israeli who grew up in Paris, France. He did not return to Israel until 1989. By the time he became famous in 2012, he was 41 years old.

Prior to being a peace activist, he was already teaching Visual Communication at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design. Ronny also founded Pushpin Mehina, a preparatory school for graphic design students. He is married to Michal Tamir and is a father of two kids. They live a comfortable life despite the high cost of living in Israel. Ronny is a hard worker. Apart from teaching at Shenkar College of Engineering and Design and managing his own school, Pushpin Mehina, he also published graphic novels. He’s a typical father who only wanted the best quality of life for his wife and kids.

Going Viral on Facebook

One of the things that Ronny enjoys doing is surfing the internet, perhaps for design inspiration or just logging on to Facebook. He would often post his designs and he’s happy with compliments from his average pool of friends.

One day while he was in a store, he overheard the owner and a customer talking about bombs. According to the store owner, Israel would soon be getting 10,000 bombs to which the client replied, “No, 10,000 bombs a day.” So, that exchange made Ronny think about the escalating animosity between Iran and his home country.

Unlike Palestine, Israel and Iran didn’t really have diplomatic issues before. The conflict between the two nations seemed to have escalated after the end of the First Gulf War. During the Pahlavi dynasty, the relations between Iran and Israel were congenial. But since the change of leadership in both countries, they have forgotten what it was like to be allies.

Issues of Iran’s nuclear technology exacerbated Israel’s animosity towards their neighboring country. What’s sad is that this conflict from the top echelons was passed on to the succeeding generations. Now, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has publicly entangled himself in a word war with Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Ronny does not understand why he must hate people he doesn’t even know. What’s the point of killing people we don’t hate? Iranians and Israelis have been raised to hate each other but Ronny is not the type who would blindly follow. In short, he does not have hate in his heart for people who he sees as just like him—a daughter/son, a husband/wife, a friend, a person.

He went home and took a picture of him and his daughter who held a miniature Israeli flag in her left hand. The picture had Ronny carrying her lovely daughter and both of them looking straight at the camera. Using his artistic license, he embellished the photo with these words: “Iranians, we will never bomb your country. We [heart] you.” Like what he would sometimes do whenever he felt like it, he posted the photo on his Facebook wall. Shortly after, he went to bed.

Ronny tells the story of what happened next after he woke up in the middle of the night to check his Facebook wall:

"... and I went by the computer and I see all these red dots, you know, on Facebook, which I've never seen before. (Laughter) And I was like, "What's going on?" So I come to the computer and I start looking on, and suddenly I see many people talking to me, most of them I don't know, and a few of them from Iran, which is -- What? Because you have to understand, in Israel we don't talk with people from Iran. We don't know people from Iran. It's like, on Facebook, you have friends only from -- it's like your neighbors are your friends on Facebook. And now people from Iran are talking to me.

So I start answering this girl, and she's telling me she saw the poster and she asked her family to come, because they don't have a computer, she asked her family to come to see the poster, and they're all sitting in the living room crying." (SOURCE: TED Talks)

Not long after his first poster went viral on Facebook, Ronny received more photos from strangers asking if he could also make them a poster with “Israel Loves Iran” message on it. What he didn’t expect was how the message would speak to what their state calls as the enemy. The initiative was soon reciprocated by a 34-year-old landscape artist, Majid Nowrouzi, who set up the “Iran Loves Israel” page on Facebook.

The Peace Factory

From hiding their faces, the Iranians soon took the courage to show who they are behind the words “Not Ready To Die In Your War.” This move gave both sides an idea who they are calling their enemies. As Ronny puts it, there is war because there is no communication. The Peace Factory was launched in 2012 as an offshoot of Israel Loves Iran and vice versa. Using Ronny’s talents, Peace Factory aims to open lines of communication and build bridges between people of the Middle East. They do it by showing the faces of people often dubbed by the state as enemies.

Peace begins by loving. Jesus Christ himself left us the greatest commandment, which is to love. As an agent of love, Ronny does not budge despite the adversities. Of course, not everybody supports his cause. He has been taunted and called naïve.

Ronny does not let it distract him from doing what he thinks is right. For someone who’s served as a paratrooper for three years, Ronny has seen what war is like. He did not like it. More than making wars, Ronny believes that both nations must begin to think of ways to address issues plaguing their very own countries:

"The way to win us is always with the threat of war, because when you have a war coming, nobody’s going to talk about social problems, or loving Iranians. Because now you have to be ready. You have to get the guns ready and everything. And that’s how they’re winning. It’s always been the same dynamic, everywhere. They’re putting you in a box of fear. And when you’re afraid for your children, for your future, you’re willing to do everything. So first you go and vote for the wrong guy, the one who says I’m going to kill them.

And then at the same time all social progress is pushed aside. That’s how it works. Iran is very far from us and is not a day-to-day problem, but the fact that I’m talking about it day-to-day and not talking about my social problems demonstrates it’s a way of making me lose focus on the real problems I have. The price of milk, the price of living in Israel. The fact that I have to have two or three jobs and I’m working so hard to finish the month. These are my real problems." (SOURCE: New Statesman)

After all is said and done, it’s still a fellow human being we are killing in a war. And for what, peace? Power? Are those more valuable than life? Why don’t we just stop hating and join Ronny in his love crusade?

Daniella Dimitrova Russo was a co-founder of the “Plastic Pollution Coalition,” a global initiative which seeks to raise awareness of how irresponsible use of plastic is ruining the planet and inspire people to take action. While serving as a consultant for Fortune 500 companies, Daniella saw the need for change when she realized how plastic has been infiltrating even the most remote areas of the planet. She launched “Think Beyond Plastic,” her own way of doing her share to make sure sure her kids, and the rest of the new generation, will have the privilege of living in a healthy environment.

In case you have not noticed, plastic is taking over the world. It is everywhere; packaging for our food, in our appliances, house fixtures, ornaments, toys, and the list goes on and on. In this age of everything instant, plastic is a necessity. The reality is we have all become dependent on it. It’s fast, convenient and sometimes trendy. While plastic has its advantages, the way we manufacture it like crazy is the root of the problem. It’s as if we can’t get enough of it!

Daniella Dimitrova Russo was going with the flow and making a lot of money in her niche in Silicon Valley. But motherhood changed her perspective; whereas she only thought of herself before, having two kids made her think more about the future. Considering the way things are going now, she’s pretty sure that what awaits her kids is not an immaculate, computerized utopia as depicted in sci-fi films, but a world literally half-buried in plastic.

It’s sad to think that we are paying convenience at such a dear cost: our children’s future. Our seas are certainly not what they used to be. Floating in the Pacific to this day is a patch of garbage bigger than the U.S. state of Texas. Plastic, of course, takes an unthinkable amount of time to begin decomposing. This means that the first-ever manufactured batch of plastic still exists today, perhaps in a different form. With this in mind, Daniella set out to step up and add to the growing force for change. The result is unbelievable! From launching her own “Think Beyond Plastic” initiative, she also co-founded another historic organization, the “Plastic Pollution Coalition.”

The journey to reaching the platform where she is now standing with her partners in environmental causes has never been easy. But she is not turning back. There is still so much to do, and she’s only getting started.

From Bulgaria to the United States

Daniella Dimitrova was born in Bulgaria, a communist country where nothing but marriage awaited her. She refused to be limited by her circumstances, and braved leaving her homeland at the age of 25. She bid her mother goodbye, unsure if she would ever see her again.

So she went, and has managed to get by. Daniella made it to “Xerox Parc,” where she saw and learned about innovation firsthand. She soon made a name in the field of business as a consultant and by setting up “Mindzone, Inc.,” her very own company. She also started “Planetstop,” a sort of network for busy people who are always on-the-go. She soon earned the trust of bigger companies, such as “Sun Microsystems.” Another highlight of her business career was helping “Infoseek,” one of the very first internet companies, take off.

Founding “Think Beyond Plastic”

It was nothing short of illustrious. Soon came her marriage and foray into parenthood, as she became a mother of two beautiful children. During one of their family excursions, Daniella brought the kids to a park where they looked forward to seeing animals and being one with nature. Imagine their shock when they saw colorful plastics littering the ocean; it was truly an eye-opener for Daniella.

The human race has become so depraved that we are ruining the environment – the only environment we have – in the name of convenience. Daniella’s experience working with National Geographic’s “Strange Days on Planet Earth” film greatly inspired her to do her share in saving the Earth.

She was touched by one particular scene in the movie of a mother albatross feeding her young with food from the Pacific Garbage Patch. She could relate to that well, being a mother herself. She thought warily of human parents unknowingly feeding their young with toxic food from time to time, unaware that it was contaminated.

Some studies, according to Daniella, prove that doctors have found plastic particles in newborn babies’ bloodstreams. This means that the plastic problem is not only environmental, but has now become a matter of life and death.

Daniella did not waste time sharing how plastic harms the environment; first with her kids, then with friends. She then started a group on Facebook and was overwhelmed by the support she received. That’s how her “Think Beyond Plastics” campaign came about.

Co-Founding “Plastic Pollution Coalition”

Two years after starting “Think Beyond Plastics,” Danielle joined Diana Cohen, Lisa Boyle and Manuel Maqueda in founding the “Plastic Pollution Coalition.” Their Facebook explains their mission as follows:

“The mission of the Plastic Pollution Coalition is to measurably reduce plastic pollution and its toxic impacts on people, animal and the environment.

PPC has two core initiatives that represent the foundation of its work:

(1) Educate and inform. Elevate the discourse about plastic pollution to the forefront of public attention; deliver access to information about all aspects of plastic pollution and their interconnections;

(2) Connect globally. Connect all involved parties—individuals, local communities, environmental, public health and environmental justice organizations, businesses and policy-makers—in their work to end plastic pollution” (SOURCE: Facebook)

Daniella knows that in order to curb our insane use of plastic, powerful and influential institutions need to be involved. How they do that is explained on their website:

“(1) Encourage, inspire and support individuals, organizations and businesses to end their dependence on disposable plastic, and to reduce their plastic footprint;(2) Encourage, inspire and support plastic product manufacturers to own the end of life of their products; to invest in truly biodegradable products; and to self-regulate the output of non-biodegradable matter;(3) Encourage, inspire and support the creation of economic incentives for businesses willing to invest in plastic alternatives; legislation that curbs irresponsible proliferation of disposable plastic;(4) Encourage, inspire and support international leaders to form global alliances against plastic pollution” (SOURCE: Plastic Pollution Coalition)

The “Plastic Pollution Coalition” has now grown into a global organization with hundreds of partners and millions of supporters, and Daniella couldn’t be happier with how her life has turned out.

"My pursuit of a better world began years ago, on another continent, under an oppressive political regime. Over the years I have discovered that freedom is fragile and precious; that the world is what we make of it; and that every one of us can be the carrier of change.

I believe that all people have the right to healthy and sustainable future. Every one of us carries the responsibility for the future of our planet, and change is possible only if we work together!" (SOURCE: Daniella Russo)

Fawzia Koofi is the first-ever woman to serve as Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the history of Afghanistan. The fact that she survived being left to die under the sun is a true testament to her courage. She would have to prove that courage over and over again as she has dodged threats to her life and insults just for being a woman. At 39 years old in 2014, she hasn’t yet reached the required age to run for the seat, so she sets out to do so four years from now.

No, Fawzia does not give up easily; she couldn’t even if she wanted to. Having two teenage daughters does not give her much choice but to move forward and continue fighting for a more liberal Afghanistan. She does not want her children to live the kind of life she had as a teenager.

Her plans came to a halt when the Taliban rose to power in the mid-1990s. Fawzia, who endured daily taunts from her male siblings just to be able to go to school, had to give up her dream of becoming a doctor. The Taliban bombed schools and prohibited girls from mingling with men or roaming freely in public. What could have been a vibrant country teeming with talented young people like Fawzia was instead frozen in terror.

She had to wear a burqa, the traditional clothing for women so no parts of their bodies can be seen by anyone in public. It was heavy, and not the least bit comfortable. Fawzia stays motivated to keep up the good fight simply by looking at her daughters, who are free to wear jeans and become the free-spirited girls they deserve to be.

Death threats are unfortunately common for Fawzia, and they do not catch her off-guard. She has left a memoir for her daughters, as well as all other women, in case one of the groups who wanted her dead succeeds. She’s ready, and she knows it’s for the good of her people and her loved ones.

If you think that your life is boring, think about Fawzia’s. She has to live every single day with the thought of dying at any time. But if you think she hides constantly in her home, frightened for her life and her kids’ safety, you would be wrong. If anything, she feels compelled to keep the issue abuzz in the hopes of raising further awareness of the equal share of women in democracy. Fawzia is not giving up; not even if it means going against powerful and unforgiving extremist groups. She’s not scurrying from bullets. She will keep fighting to educate women, and the general public, about how society can be transformed if women’s rights are respected.

How can there be democracy in a country where a woman has no say in who she wants to marry? What freedom is there for a woman who is permanently mutilated just because she has turned down a suitor? Is there any justice in prohibiting women from choosing the career they want so they can realize their dreams and contribute to society?

These issues take precedence on Fawzia’s political platform; as a proud mother and politician, she will not be silenced by threats. What her opponents do not realize is that Fawzia has long succeeded. Try as they might, they won’t be able to change history. For what it’s worth, Fawzia has nothing to lose.

Surviving the Sun

Fawzia Koofi was born to a Member of Parliament who had seven wives. She was his daughter with his second wife, the most influential of all the women in his life. Fawzia was born in either 1975 or 1976; it is unclear. Her mother’s marriage to her father was, like those of most women in her country, arranged. Her mother loved her husband, however, even though he beat her over petty mistakes.

The family had grown to 18 kids, and Fawzia’s mother was pregnant with the 19th. It was about that time when the seventh wife joined the family. Her mother was only 14 years old at the time, and panicked upon hearing the news of his new wife. She was already jealous of the other women in her husband’s life; having even more competition was anything but encouraging.

From then on, she always looked for new ways to get back her husband’s affection. Perhaps being pregnant made her more sensitive; she was not entirely her healthy self throughout the pregnancy. She only had one prayer, however: that her baby would be a boy.

After hours of grueling labor, she finally gave birth. She was so excited to regain her husband’s attention by giving him another son. But, when the midwife told her she had given birth to a girl, her world came crashing down. She refused to hold her daughter in her arms.

Her relatives, unsure of what to do, left the infant to die under the scorching sun. Her cries were muffled by the buzz of people doing chores around her; no one paid the baby any attention. When her mother finally came to her senses, her instincts kicked in and she went looking for her newborn. As weak as she was from giving birth, she still rescued Fawzia in time.

The baby survived, but not without sustaining third-degree burns. The scar, however, would lighten in time.

Education

Fawzia would never get to know her father; he was shot and killed in his own home by the Mujahedeen. As she was only 3 ½ years old at the time, she can no longer remember the incident. When the attack happened, his entire family ran; they survived, but with the head of the family gone, there was very little hope for Fawzia. Nevertheless, her mother eventually found the courage to send her daughter to school.

Fawzia loved to learn. She literally remembers bombs going off over her head on her way to her English lessons, and her mother would always wait for her to return and chide her for coming home late. In Afghanistan, women are not supposed to be sent to school; they are regarded as sub-humans who are not equal to men. But Fawzia never took her sights off school, as she knew it was her gateway to liberation.

Fawzia was the only female in her family who was interested in school, and her mother stood up for her when it was questioned by other relatives. Fawzia loved her mother for that, and harbored no ill feelings towards her. She understood how terrifying it would have been to give birth to a daughter knowing the kind of life that awaited her.

When she was 11 years old, her family left her hometown in the Badakhshan province and moved to Kabul. It was there where Fawzia was introduced not only to women who wore fashionable clothing, but the modern world in general.

Fawzia was a teenager when her closest brother was shot and killed by unknown men. The murder remains unsolved, and it’s unfortunate that this is no surprise in Afghanistan, where the law of the land is poorly-enforced. In another tragedy, Fawzia then lost her mother shortly after.

The Reign of the Taliban

The year 1996 was traumatic for Fawzia. She was studying to be a doctor when the Taliban decided that women should no longer go to school, bringing her dreams to a halt. Her school, like many other institutions in Afghanistan, was bombed. Her marriage, however, had been arranged long before then – thankfully to somebody she liked: her groom was Hamid, an engineer and chemistry teacher. While most relatives approved of the marriage, some of her brothers opposed it. They believed she should have married someone who was also into politics. The couple finally wed ten years later.

Ten days after the wedding, Hamid was taken by armed men when they could not find Fawzia’s brother (her brother was a police commander for the Mujahedeen government). Fawzia did not relent until they released Hamid. They did, but only to incarcerate him soon after. When they finally let him go, he had already contracted tuberculosis while imprisoned, and it was too late to cure him. He died shortly after.

Fawzia’s Foray into Politics

Being an educated woman, Fawzia was commissioned to help the United Nations Children's Fund in 2002 as a child protection officer. That was when she was exposed to politics.

Despite protests from her relatives, she ran for a seat in the Parliament and was successful. She secured a seat at the “Wolesi Jirga,” Afghan National Assembly’s Lower House for the Badakhshan district. It’s one of the poorest provinces in Afghanistan in which many women die during childbirth due to neglect.

Fawzia was elected as the Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament, the first woman to do so in the history of Afghanistan. That’s when the threats started coming; she began receiving calls from people who wanted her dead simply because she was causing a stir as a female leader.

The threats soon materialized in real attacks; the most terrifying would be the 2010 attack, which lasted 30 minutes and resulted in two of her bodyguards being murdered.

“Letters to my Daughters”

Realizing how dangerous life had become for her and her teenage daughters, Shuhra and Shaharzad, she wrote a book and titled it “Letters to my Daughters.” It is a memoir which recounts what she has gone through in life to make women understand the value of what she is fighting to achieve.

Every time she leaves home, she’s not entirely certain if she will make it back. She has left instructions to her kids, telling them to value education as their ticket to empowerment. Without education, she tells them, she herself would be nothing.

She also co-wrote another book, “The Favored Daughter: One Woman's Fight to Lead Afghanistan into the Future,” with Nadene Ghouri. Hers was a journey of love, hope, sorrow and success, and Fawzia knows the world could use more women like her.

So, she will run for Afghanistan’s Presidential seat in 2018. If it’s her destiny, then no assassination attempt will stop her from becoming her country’s first woman president.

Organizations and Programs Supported

“Back to School” Campaign

UNICEF

Wolesi Jirga

Awards and Achievements

2002-2004: Worked for UNICEF as a child protection officer

2005: Elected to the “Wolesi Jirga”

2009: Selected as a “Young Global Leader” by the World Economic Forum

2010: Re-elected in the Parliamentary elections

Became the first female Second Deputy Speaker of Parliament in the history of Afghanistan

As tribe leader, Chief Almir Narayamoga Surui had to do something to save “Paiter Surui,” his niche in the Amazon Forest. Loggers did not give up easily, considering the century-old trees they hoped to bring in. When this Surui Chief began to act against logging, a bounty was put on his head, forcing him to leave his people for seven months. More determined than ever, Chief Almir kept his partnership with Google Earth Outreach and has found a way to liberate his people from loggers through a 50-year development plan.

The first of his tribe to obtain a college degree, Chief Almir was focused entirely on putting a stop to the logging activities that are destroying the world’s largest and most diverse rainforest: the Amazon. The Amazon Forest supplies 20% of our oxygen; chopping down its trees is a great disservice to humanity.

But not everyone is concerned about what will happen in the future. As long as there’s money to be made in present-time, they will continue to cut down century-old trees. Chief Almir of the Paiter Surui tribe has spent all 17 of his years in the forest, co-existing with nature. Ever since modernity found its way to their once-resolute piece of land, preventing the extinction of his tribe has been the top priority.

Chief Almir eventually grew tired of the bloodshed, so he went to an internet café and started googling. He learned about sustainable projects and Google Earth Outreach. There is a misconception about the Amazon, a belief that it is not home to human beings; seeing his tribe’s exact location on the map reading “uninhabited area” gave him the push he needed to step out of his comfort zone and brave the unknown.

Dropping his bow and arrows, he set out to the United States to tell the story of his unheard-of tribe, and he did not come home empty-handed. He convinced Google to support their efforts and map their territory to help police it and discourage mindless logging. They have also partnered with other organizations that help raise funds [independently] by protecting their trees. They have also found a way to sell carbon credits that can be purchased by companies to lessen their emissions. It’s a win-win approach in that they need not cut trees to get by – they are protecting their home, and making sure the Amazon Forest can be seen by future generations.

Early Life

Almir Narayamoga was born in Rondônia [in the Amazon Rainforest] in 1974 to Tribal Chieftain Marimo Surui. By the time he was born, their tribe had made contact with outsiders who lured them into making money by allowing loggers to cut down trees. The government of Brazil only improved the situation for loggers by enacting new laws which generally favored capitalists.

The Tribal Chief could only do so much to stop them. With money involved, the tribe members welcomed the loggers, unaware that they were after all of their trees – not just a few. Despite having a population of five-thousand, the Paiter Surui tribe was decimated by disease brought from contact with the outside world. They had not contended with tuberculosis, measles, chickenpox and other epidemics until trade relations with non-tribal members put them at risk of being infected with such illnesses.

Contact with outsiders commenced around 1969; Almir was born about five years later. By then, only 250 Surui tribesmen had survived the epidemic. Nearing extinction with their home threatened to be destroyed beyond repair, Almir witnessed many fierce fights. His tribe was desperate to survive. The loggers were intent on cutting down and obtaining as many trees as possible, and the government offered little protection; it was the kind of environment that truly shaped Almir into a fearless leader.

Almir’s Schools

Being as intelligent as he was, he made it to Centro de Pesquisa Indigena, a school founded by Ailton Krenak, an indigenous leader himself. The school works like a preparatory institution for students who will then advance to Universidade Federal de Goiás, where Almir studied for three years and completed his degree in Applied Biology.

The Surui tribe was accustomed to a simple life within their territory, which was why college was not a high priority. Almir braved going to a university, something no one else in his tribe had done before.

It’s no surprise that Almir likes doing things that have never been done before. Take, for instance, his vocal disapproval of illegal logging. At 14 years old, Almir was already taking part in discussions of how to mitigate illegal logging activities in the Amazon. Such leadership was already evident in him, even at a young age.

He was 17 years old when tasked to lead his tribe. After college, he headed back to Surui to fulfill his duties. His first project was to have World Bank audit its funding to support Rondônia through “Plana Flora.” Apparently, the funds did not get to the people who are supposed to receive them, so he negotiated alongside environmentalist Jose Maria dos Santos to have the money released to them and spared from going through bureaucracy.

Partnering with Google Earth

Eventually, Almir had to face the issue of illegal logging head-on. The government seems to condone it, since it enables people in position to have large sums of kick-backs. His tribe members and clan leaders were no longer as adamant to stop illegal logging because of its financial aspect.

Needless to say, illegal logging only worsened over time, and Almir had to act fast. He knew that depending on aid from organizations would not get them anywhere; they had to be autonomous. In order to achieve that, they needed sustainable sources of income without compromising their home.

His solution was to plant more trees, although it did not sound appealing or even realistic to the other leaders. Then, he really had to be creative. Having been exposed to life outside the forest, Chief Almir was no stranger to technology. Googling “reforestation Amazon” led him to “Aqua Verde,” a program that was close enough to what he had in mind. The founder, Thomas Pizer, was paying locals to plant trees. Almir corresponded with him and partnered with the Amazon Conservation Team (ACT) to secure a grant for the creation of a cultural map, much like what the organization did for the Xingu Tribe.

The mapping stopped loggers, but it gave them time to chase Almir. A 100,000-dollar bounty was put on his head. Without Almir, loggers knew they could return to cutting down trees to their hearts’ content. He was forced to stay away from his tribe and live elsewhere.

He first used Google Earth in 2007, curious of what their spot in the Amazon would look like. He was surprised to discover that Google had labeled it “uninhabited.” Of course, he couldn’t let the misconception go on. Wearing his feather headdress, he met with Rebecca Moore, manager of Google Earth Outreach. The speech he gave about his tribe’s struggles moved the organization to take action, and they flew to Paiter Surui at Rondônia to see the inhabitants themselves. Since the decimation, Chief Almir has encouraged intermarriages and more children in families to make the tribe grow to 1,300 people.

Apart from correcting Google Earth, Google also educated the tribes on how to use the app to report illegal logging in the area. It was a big step towards modernization for the people who used to be disconnected from the world entirely. Rather than despise being invaded by outsiders, Chief Almir used it to his advantage, and used his publicity to educate many about the real problems of the Amazon. Although it is in Brazil and serves as the home of a tiny population, the rainforest is the source of 20% of the oxygen breathed by the world’s population.

His brave step towards modernization brought the issue of the Amazon’s fading biodiversity to the front pages of important publications. Not only that, Chief Almir also became every tribe’s spokesperson. He gave us a glimpse of what it’s like to be one with nature and what is at stake if we continue to destroy our forests. The 50-year development plan he devised himself has commenced. We can only hope that people won’t turn a deaf ear to their call for help. It’s not only the Amazon and their tribe we are saving if we become more conscious about our use of resources; we are making life possible for many generations to come.

Organizations and Programmes Supported

National Indian Foundation

Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation

Brazilian Biodiversity Fund (Funbio)

Google

Amazon Conservation Team

International Funders for Indigenous Peoples

Coordination of Nations and Indian Peoples of Rondônia, Southern Amazonas and Northern Mato Grosso

Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (NORAD)

United States Agency for International Development (USAID)

Forest Trends

Association of Ethnic and Environmental Defense or “Kanindé”

The Institute for the Conservation and Sustainable Development of Amazonas or “Idesam”

Katoomba Incubator

Natura

Awards and Achievements

2007: Partnered with Google

2009: Named one of Brazil’s 100 most influential persons

2011: Ranked the 53rd of the “Most Creative People in Business in the World” by Fast Company Magazine

How much are we willing to do for the oppressed and those whose voices are too faint to hear? That’s what Madeline Janis, a lawyer, has done all her life. As accomplished as she may be, she has opted to work alongside minorities, people whose rights are not recognized often enough and cannot always afford decent housing. She founded the “Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy” (LAANE) along with fellow activists and organizers, Miguel Contreras and Maria Elena Durazo.

From beginning with only three staff members, LAANE now has 45, most of them researchers, analysts, publicists and fundraisers. The organization also has an annual budget of 4.6 million dollars. It has come a long way from helping only a few to becoming one of the most successful grass-roots organizations in the United States.

Madeline Janis’s exposure to poverty in Mexico enabled her to see how minorities in the United States are abused by employers with unbelievably-low wages and little to no health benefits. When she became a lawyer, Madeline felt she could do so much for the people whose voices are either too soft to hear or deliberately ignored by those in power.

After working with a private law firm for two years, Madeline had enough exposure to, and gained enough knowledge about, how the government can profoundly change the lives of powerless people. She was invited to join the organization that would soon become “LAANE” and has since built it from the ground-up, to the delight of truck drivers, nannies, hotel staff and all other employees who receive inadequate salaries for doing all the dirty work.

Madeline’s courage has earned her some enemies along the way, but she isn’t giving up her crusade or ideology to please those who do not believe in her organization’s work. She is a visionary in that, unlike most activists, she doesn’t think of the government as the “enemy of the people.” Madeline fervently believes that people can leverage their government’s authority for their own advantage, which is how democracy is supposed to work.

Early Life

Born in 1960 to upper middle-class parents, Madeline enjoyed a comfortable life. Raised in San Fernando Valley, Madeline didn’t know of poverty as a child. She is the daughter of a psychiatrist father and a mother who was both an artist and teacher. Her father was an avid supporter of Rush Limbaugh, who she eventually grew to dislike.

Madeline’s parents divorced when she was ten years old, and she and her mother migrated to Mexico in 1973. There, she experienced life that was starkly different from what she had known; people had blue-collar jobs and worked like horses, but there was never enough money to feed their families. This leads many Mexicans to consider moving to the United States, where something better may await them.

During Madeline’s formative years, she was exposed to life’s sad realities, including the ways people become victims of unjust governance. This prompted her to consider a degree which would better equip her to help victims of both political injustice and giant corporations.

She was a student at Amherst, and finished her junior studies in Spain. At that time, the country had just been freed from the shackles of dictatorship, and their fight for democracy inspired her. Being the daughter of a politically-attuned father, Madeline considered herself political, but had never dabbled in activism. Her stint in Spain encouraged her to become more passionate about helping political causes to take off, hence her decision to begin participating in movements.

After graduating, she was one of the courageous Amherst students who protested against the apartheid movement by wearing “Free Nelson Mandela” armbands. She would go on to finish her law degree from the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA).

History of “LAANE”

After law school, Madeline briefly represented beneficiaries of slum housing. Knowing she still needed further insight into the land development industry, she joined the law firm “Latham & Watkins,” where she worked for two years. She then joined the “Central American Refugee Center” (CARECEN) in 1990, although some sources say it was 1989. She was director of CARACEN until 1993, when she decided to return to Latham & Watkins.

George Mihlsten became her mentor, and his strong lobbying tendencies inspired her to become more involved in social crusades. Upon working in a private law firm once more, she realized how people could use the power of their interests to move the government. Noted in an article published on The American Prospect:

“What I saw was that developers owned city hall. They’d meet council members, money would change hands in legal ways, and the stuff they wanted to happen would happen. That led to an epiphany: We needed to bring normal people to city hall. We needed to act like city hall is the hall of democracy, where every person is welcome. We have to back that up with research, organizing, communications, but that should be our attitude.”

Word got out about Madeline’s passion for immigrant workers. Husband-and-wife Miguel Contreras and Maria Elena Durazo were interested in starting an organization that would mobilize the population – in a grassroots way – to make change happen in Los Angeles. They were scouting for someone who would take care of organizing the unions and strategize the ways of upholding minorities’ rights. Madeline Janis seemed passionate enough, but they challenged her to step out of her comfort zone and explore further ways to help, other than immigrant causes.

Initially, the organization was known as the “Tourism Industry Development Council” (TIDC). She served as Executive Director and, as the only staffer, did nearly everything around the office. In 1995, TIDC went against the Los Angeles airport’s plan to replace workers with employees who would be paid much lower. This was approved by then-mayor Richard Riordan.

She knew that the best way to protest was to go through the municipal council. She asked for an audience, along with the 200 fired employees, and they successfully convinced the council to pass a bill to prohibit the firing of LAX’s existing employees. The Mayor’s veto was not enough to prevent the bill’s passing. Before the bill was enacted, however, Madeline had begun to see the bigger picture. The workers’ problem was not only that their jobs were being taken; it was also an unjust working environment in the sense that they were paid lower than union wage with little to no benefits.

To address the problem, Madeline drafted their own version of an L.A. ordinance, as inspired by the Baltimore ordinance which paved the way for blue-collar employees to receive living wages. TIDC soon became known as the “Living Wage Coalition.” They also did something unprecedented by involving faith leaders in their call for better employment offers.

By then, Madeline had certainly exceeded the expectations of LAANE’s co-founders; but it was only the beginning. Before the mobilization of L.A.’s workers, power was concentrated among capitalists and the municipal council. In order to change that, Madeline had to use the power of the minority to impact those who are going to end up in governments seats.

To mobilize the work force, Madeline wanted to educate the voters of their right to choose who to elect to government seats. One of the most important parts of ending the injustice was exercising the right to vote. In each election, the turnout of Latino voters continued to increase until they were certainly noticed by those running for office.

As the organization grew, they began receiving bigger grants, soon enabling them to fund their own initiatives. They changed their name to the “Los Angeles Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE),” as they no longer planned to focus solely on living wages, and began espousing the community benefits agreement.

Madeline was appointed by Mayor James Hahn as a board member of the “Community Redevelopment Agency.” It ushered the partnership of CRA and LAANE, as Madeline fought for companies with grants exceeding one million dollars to comply with the community benefit agreement. LAANE’s next big fight was against Wal-Mart, the wholesale giant, in 2004. They succeeded in keeping Inglewood (a Latino city) without a Wal-Mart because the company wouldn’t pay what the workers deserved to receive.

After serving LAANE for nearly a decade, Madeline relinquished her post to Roxana Tynan following yet another successful campaign, called the “Clean Trucks Program.” By reinforcing environmental ordinances and mobilizing truck drivers, LAANE – along with its partners – reduced pollution in the Los Angeles port by 70%.

Madeline, now 53 years old, is still fired up by her own ideologies. She’s married to a fellow activist, Donald Cohen, and is a mother of five. It will take years before Madeline would consider giving activism a rest; clearly, it’s a vocation for her, something that will keep her going so long as injustice is present.

Organizations and Programmes Supported

L.A. Alliance for a New Economy (LAANE)

Community Redevelopment AgencyUCLA

School of Public Affairs (Senior Fellow)

Good Jobs First (Member of Board of Directors)

Partnership for Working Families (Member of Board of Directors)

Brave New Foundation (Member of Board of Directors)

Phoenix Fund for Workers and People for the American Way (Member of Board of Directors)

Central American Refugee Center (CARECEN)

Clean Trucks Program

Construction Careers and Green Jobs Policy

Partnership for Working Families

Long Beach Coalition for Good Jobs and a Healthy Community

Awards and Achievements

1983 to 1986: Served as Juris Doctor at the UCLA School of Law

1989 to 1993: Served as executive director of the “Central American Refugee Center” (CARECEN)

1993L: Founded “LAANE”

1993 to 2012: Served as Executive Director of “LAANE”

2002 and 2006: Appointed (and re-appointed) successive mayors of Los Angeles as a volunteer commissioner to the board of the city’s “Community Redevelopment Agency”

Received awards from the “Liberty Hill Foundation” and “Office of the Americas”

LAANE received awards from the Mayor of Los Angeles, the “Speaker of the California Assembly,” the UCLA School of Law and the “Los Angeles Roman Catholic Archdiocese”

Chelsea Elizabeth Manning, formerly known as “Bradley Edward Manning,” is a soldier in the United States Army who became famous worldwide for being accused, and convicted of, leaking the largest-ever set of classified files regarding a U.S. military controversy. With extraordinary passion for truth and justice, Chelsea was willing to give up her military career so the truth about certain war-related injustices could be revealed.

An Unfortunate Early Life

Chelsea’s early life was not what most of us would call “okay,” but this did not prevent her from developing a sense of truth and justice. She was born Bradley Edward Manning on December 17, 1987 in Crescent, Oklahoma, the son of Brian Manning and Susan Fox. Chelsea has one older sister, Casey.

Prior to the birth of his children, Chelsea’s father, Brian, entered the United States Navy at age nineteen and spent five years in the service. Sometime in 1975, he met Susan Fox at a local Woolworth’s while stationed in the Cawdor Barracks at Wales. The two immediately took a liking to each other and married the following year, having their first child shortly after. In 1979, after finishing his service in the Navy, Brian brought Susan and the young Casey to the United States, first living in California then settling in Oklahoma, where they had a two-story house, a swimming pool and five acres of land for chickens and pigs.

Brian worked as an IT manager for a rental car agency and spent a great deal of time travelling for his work. This left Susan to take care of the children, but she was a troubled individual, and spent much of her time drinking alcohol. In fact, Susan drank while still carrying Chelsea in her womb, not giving any thought to the repercussions of her actions. When Chelsea was born, she was smaller and lighter than a normal baby ought to be, but nevertheless proved to be healthy.

Because of their mother’s drinking habit, Casey often took care of Chelsea and fed her day and night. And, because Susan spent much of the money Brian was sending them on alcohol, Chelsea was fed only with milk and baby food until she was two years old. It was indeed a terrible experience for the very young Chelsea, who found comfort and care in the arms of her older sister.

Childhood Years

In her childhood years, Chelsea spent a lot of time playing with her Lego blocks or using the computer. In school, Chelsea (who was known as Bradley) demonstrated natural gifts for science and music, excelled in most of her subjects and played the saxophone at an early age. In fact, Chelsea taught herself many things because of her mother’s lack of involvement in her life. By the age of ten, Chelsea had already developed her first website and won the grand prize in the local science fair three times in a row.

In spite of Chelsea’s talents and abilities, her family situation made it difficult for her to live “normally.” Because of their tight finances, there were some days when Chelsea had to go to school without money for lunch. Fortunately, though, a few friends would often help her out. One of the Manning family’s neighbors even described how she would give her son (who was Chelsea’s classmate) extra money whenever they went on field trips so he could make sure Chelsea would have something to eat.

Chelsea’s neighbors described her family as troubled, as her parents often got into fights because of her mother’s alcoholism. Growing up in a dysfunctional family had a strong effect on the young Chelsea, who developed an independent attitude at an early age. Her upbringing also caused her to become non-religious, which surfaced when she kept silent during the line of the “Pledge of Allegiance” which refers to God.

Breakdown in the Family

When Chelsea was thirteen years old, her parents divorced due to irreconcilable differences. Susan brought her children with her, leaving the family house and moving into an apartment. The divorce took heavy mental and emotional tolls on Susan’s health, resulting in her mood swings and instability. In 1998, Susan attempted suicide, and would have succeeded had it not been for her timely discovery by Casey and Chelsea, who took their mother to the hospital.

The Beginnings of “Chelsea” Manning

It was also around this time that Chelsea began to reveal her femininity to the people she trusted most. One of her childhood friends recalled in an interview that it was around her thirteenth year when Chelsea talked to him about her being “gay,” and slowly and subtly began acting as such. Because of her femininity, Chelsea was a target of bullying in class, and was often teased by her male classmates.

In 2000, Chelsea’s father remarried, ironically to a woman also named “Susan;” she brought with her a son from a previous relationship who started identifying himself as a “Manning,” resulting in a negative reaction from Chelsea in which she told her mother: “I’m nobody now.”

Living in the u.k. with Her Mother

The following year, in 2001, Chelsea went with her mother, Susan, to the latter’s hometown in Wales. Chelsea then enrolled at Tasker Milward Secondary School for her high school studies, but experienced tremendous bullying due to her femininity and being the only American in the class. The bullying became traumatizing for Chelsea, so much that her entire class once left her alone during a camping trip.

In spite of this unjust treatment, Chelsea nevertheless demonstrated her intelligence and brightness at school. She excelled in her studies, and was described by her friends as “quirky,” “opinionated” and “articulate.” And, even though she was bullied, it did not stop her from proving to be among the school’s top students. Her interest in computers grew further, and, in 2003, Chelsea launched a website named “angeldyne.com,” which offered downloadable content.

Eventually, Susan’s declining mental and emotional stability, as well as the seemingly-endless bullying in school, forced Chelsea to return to the United States, as she was concerned that her mother’s condition was worsening and that the best option was to let her family care for her. Chelsea settled with her father in Oklahoma City with his new family and obtained a job at “Zoto,” a local software company, but was let go after four months; her manager said of her, “nobody has been taking care of this kid for a long time.”

Returning to the United States

Upon returning to the United States, Chelsea decided to be open about who she really was – that she was gay. This revelation did not cause any strain on her relationship with her father, but she had some problems with her stepmother, and at one point even threatened her after a heated argument. Chelsea then left home and moved in with a friend, and found a job at a local pizza store in Chicago.

Sometime afterwards, Chelsea was taken in by her aunt, Debra Nicks, who was working as a lawyer in Potomac. She stayed with her aunt for fifteen months, and in that time Debra was a very positive influence in her life; Debra later wrote that Chelsea’s fifteen-month stay became the most stable part of her [Chelsea’s] life. This time included having several jobs, a boyfriend, and spending a semester studying English and history at Montgomery College.

Joining the Military

In mid-2007, Brian talked to Chelsea about joining the United States Army. Although she was unsure at first, she eventually decided to enlist in the hopes of getting a college education through the G.I. Bill (which gave scholarships to those who enlisted), as well as resolving her “identity disorder.”

Chelsea started basic training in October of that year, but was soon sent to the discharge unit after exhibiting improper behavior and insubordination. Apparently, Chelsea was still being bullied, and after so many years of ridicule she finally pushed back and found a way to fight. She was nearly discharged, but the order was eventually revoked after her superiors noticed her aptitude and talent for computers. Chelsea was then allowed to complete her basic training and was sent to Fort Huachuca, where she became an Intelligence Analyst with a Top Secret clearance.

The following year, in 2008, Chelsea was moved to Fort Drum in New York, where she was assigned to the 2nd Brigade Combat Team of the 10th Mountain Division to be trained for Iraq. It was there where Chelsea began her first serious relationship with Tyler Watkins, a student of psychology and neuroscience at Brandeis University. Through Tyler, Chelsea was introduced to the “hacker community” of Boston University and its founder, David House, who would later become one of Chelsea’s most loyal supporters.

Despite being in the military, Chelsea soon felt compelled that being feminine was who she really was. This caused certain problems with her fellow trainees, and Chelsea soon visited an Army mental-health counselor after being referred by her superior. Her relationship with Tyler also ended in 2009 after Chelsea displayed several emotional issues which caused a rift in their relationship.

Deployment to Iraq

Later that year, Chelsea was deployed to Baghdad, Iraq, where she worked with the Secret Internet Protocol Router Network and the Joint Worldwide Intelligence Communications System. Initially, two of her superiors considered not bringing her to Iraq due to her personal issues, but did so anyway due to a shortage of available analysts. Chelsea wasted no time impressing her superiors with her work, and was promoted from Private First Class to Specialist after just one month.

Chelsea’s deployment to Iraq did not help her gender issues, though, and she soon became more open in her displays of being gay – though not open enough to get her discharged and ruin her hopes for a scholarship. In one instance, Chelsea wrote to a gender counselor in the United States about her her opposition to the war and how she felt that she was a woman and was considering having surgery to change her gender. As time passed in Iraq, Chelsea began displaying an unfavorable attitude towards the war, and once was even suspended for a day every week due to her tardiness, to which she responded by posting on Facebook that she “felt hopeless and alone” in January 2010.

Witnessing the Horrors of War

Seeing the war first-hand affected Chelsea in a way her military superiors did not anticipate. At that time, many of those against the war criticized it for having an unjust basis, and Chelsea soon realized that the speculations of “supposedly made-up WMD (Weapons of Mass Destruction) reports” were evident. Along with her emotional and moral issues, Chelsea began to realize the war should not have begun in the first place, and in her position in military intelligence she began discovering several injustices committed by her fellow soldiers, such as killing innocent civilians and forcing Iraqi men to draw weapons so the soldiers could kill them.

The Leak: How it Began

It was not long before Chelsea decided that the world had to know what was really happening in Iraq. And so, in 2010, Chelsea began downloading highly-sensitive information from the military server onto her personal laptop computer, and started talking with the whistleblower organization “WikiLeaks” after she learned of their activities through one of their posts regarding the September 11th attacks in New York City.

A series of exchanges then took place between Chelsea and a member of the WikiLeaks organization, although Chelsea kept them secret. When she returned to the United States on a two-week leave, Chelsea contacted both the Washington Post and the New York Times about publishing the secret military files, although neither seemed interested in the story. Left with no other option, Chelsea turned to WikiLeaks and sent them the war logs of Iraq and Afghanistan, though she did not receive any confirmation of whether the organization received the files after she returned.

Among the files Chelsea sent was a video clip of a helicopter attack in Baghdad called “Collateral Murder,” in which a group of innocent civilians were directly-targeted and killed. This was the kind of file that would put the U.S. Army in a bad light, but Chelsea believed that saying nothing would be an injustice to the numerous innocent lives being taken every day.

Revealing Herself and Being Discharged From the Military

Eventually, Chelsea could no longer keep her gender issue a secret and, in mid-2010, sent her supervisor, Master Sergeant Paul Adkins, a message that contained a picture of her dressed as a woman. The message said:

“This is my problem. I've had signs of it for a very long time. It's caused problems within my family. I thought a career in the military would get rid of it. It's not something I seek out for attention, and I've been trying very, very hard to get rid of it by placing myself in situations where it would be impossible. But, it's not going away; it's haunting me more and more as I get older. Now, the consequences of it are dire, at a time when it's causing me great pain in itself...”

After careful consideration by her superiors, it was decided that Chelsea should be released from the military due to her increasing emotional instability. In May 2010, Chelsea started exhibiting behavior that caused one of her superiors to recommend her discharge. Around this time, Chelsea also began chatting with Adrian Lamo, a computer hacker in New York to whom she sent the information about the files she downloaded. It was not long afterward when Chelsea’s actions came to light and, on May 27th, 2010, she was arrested for leaking classified documents to a third party. Prior to her arrest, Chelsea was also demoted to Private First Class.

Chelsea was transferred to Kuwait to face the charges against her, and spent the next months in detention while awaiting her trial. Initially, the guards behaved professionally and made no attempts to harass or embarrass Chelsea, but as time went by their treatment of her grew worse. In early 2011, most of Chelsea’s privileges were stripped under the pretense that she was becoming a “suicide risk.” It is said by those who visited her that Chelsea’s overall physical health deteriorated during this time due to being alone and shackled for most of each day.

A hearing occurred in April 2011, in which the prosecution presented the case against her. The defense panel helped Chelsea by claiming that the government overstated the harm in releasing the documents, as well as acknowledging the issues of Chelsea’s gender and the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy. In 2012, the military court which handled Chelsea’s case, led by Army Colonel Denise Lind, agreed to the terms that allowed Chelsea to plead guilty so her sentence would be lessened.

Chelsea’s Trial

The trial began in June 2013 and, after a lengthy discussion, the court found Chelsea guilty of leaking classified documents and ruled that her offenses carried a maximum sentence of 90 years. The government asked that the sentence be reduced to sixty years, and Chelsea’s lawyer fought to have it reduced to twenty years. In the end, the court sentenced Chelsea to be dishonorably discharged and imprisoned for twenty-one to thirty-five years. She will also have an opportunity for parole after serving one-third of her sentence. Chelsea began her sentence at the United States Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas.

During one of the hearings, Chelsea stated:

“I am sorry that my actions hurt people. I'm sorry that they hurt the United States. I am sorry for the unintended consequences of my actions. When I made these decisions I believed I was going to help people, not hurt people... At the time of my decisions I was dealing with a lot of issues.”

Chelsea’s Legacy

Chelsea’s arrest and trial caused massive public unrest over the internet. After the court’s final decision to imprison Chelsea, several groups rose up to defend her actions, stating that she did what she believed was right and should not be treated as a traitor simply because she exposed the injustices of the war. Among the most vocal groups are “Free Bradley Manning,” “Courage to Resist” and the “Bradley Manning Support Network,” who petitioned for the United States to reconsider her prison sentence.

One day after her sentence was passed, Chelsea announced via a press conference held by her attorney that she was a female, and requested to be called by her new name, Chelsea Elizabeth Manning. She stated:

“As I transition into this next phase of my life, I want everyone to know the real me. I am Chelsea Manning. I am a female. Given the way that I feel, and have felt since childhood, I want to begin hormone therapy as soon as possible. I hope that you will support me in this transition. I also request that, starting today, you refer to me by my new name and use the feminine pronoun (except in official mail to the confinement facility). I look forward to receiving letters from supporters and having the opportunity to write back.”

Recently, Chelsea’s lawyers have requested a pardon from President Barack Obama, stating that Chelsea’s leakage of the files did not result in any “real damage” to the United States military or the government. While an answer is yet to be given by the President, numerous human rights groups and LGBT organizations have supported the request, hoping that he will pardon Chelsea and allow her to return to a normal life.

Reactions to Chelsea’s actions remain divided today, as some say her actions made her a traitor to the United States, while others say she was right to expose the injustices in the Middle East so we can work to correct them. And, while neither side plans on yielding to the other, it is up to us to decide which is more patriotic: to stay silent about the numerous injustices for which our governments are responsible, or rattle the cage and hope for a better world.

Master Li Hongzhi is a controversial figure in many ways. He is regarded as a dissident in China, his home country, because of his strong influence. Second, his teachings and claims are bizarre, such as that computers and modernization were introduced by aliens to subjugate humans. For what it’s worth, the principles of his “Falun Gong” – truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance – all point toward goodness. Falun Gong has influenced millions of people and changed the lives of those who have lived in abject violence.

To Li’s detractors, he is a fraud; a greedy poser who’s only after money. But, to his followers, he is a master, an enlightened being, a generous teacher who cares little about benefitting himself. Those are the two facets of Li Hongzhi.

Is he what the Chinese government makes him out to be, or a divine incarnation clothed in a human body? He neither confirms nor negates such assumptions; he always tells reporters that he’d rather not explain because, in our “limited understanding,” we wouldn’t comprehend the concept of who he really is.

Until the early 2000s, his biography was shown in his own website, but was later removed. The new editions of his “Falun Gong” book and his other writings are no longer contained in his biography. His followers explain that they would “rather talk about his principles than dwell on his past.” The following biography is based on what is available – as to whether he could really levitate, well, we’ll leave that to the reader’s imagination.

Hagiography and Biography

Li Hongzhi is not an ordinary person, as far as his devotees are concerned. He is a god to them, one capable of reading the future and even cleansing them from sin. Much ado was earned for his efforts to change his birthdate from July 7th (some say 27th) to May 13th. The People’s Republic of China accused Li of choosing the said date because it was the birthday of Sakyamuni, the founder of Buddhism. According to Li, however, he is simply correcting his birth records, which is not an isolated case. There is some truth to his claim because China, at the time, was plagued by civil war and uprisings due to Mao Tse Tung’s “Cultural Revolution” and birth certificate errors were common.

His birthdate, according to him, was erroneously noted and the incorrect date appeared in his documents, including his school and employment records. The government will not grant his request until he shows substantial evidence that he was indeed born on May 13th.

Li had an ordinary family; he was the eldest of three children and the only son of an acupuncturist father and a nurse mother. Li was like any other child, according to his schoolmates and neighbors. His hagiography, however, says otherwise.

Li was originally from the Jilin province and moved to Changchun when he was two years old; his parents would later separate. Zhujiang Street Elementary School of Changchun became his primary school, where he began studying in 1960. When his classmates and former teachers were asked about the young Li, all they could remember was an introverted boy who had a talent for playing the trumpet.

In his hagiography, he was said to have been trained by the Tenth Heir to the Great Law of the Buddha School, Quan Jue, when he was only four years old. After four years of training, he was said to have acquired supernatural powers, such as invisibility, levitation and other unbelievable abilities. He was said to have trained under the master’s care until he was 12 years old, when he was then discovered by Baji Zhenren, an “immortal Taoist.” With Master Zhenren, Li trained physically and learned martial arts.

His peers negate this, of course, as they have never once seen Li display his powers; they remember him only as a skilled trumpeter.

Before becoming a Master

According to some accounts, Li worked on a People's Liberation Army stud farm when he was 17 years old. He was said to have worked there from 1970 to 1978. After eight years on the stud farm, he was hired as a trumpet player in a forest police unit in the Jilin Province while also working as an attendant in the hotel which housed the police officers.

This is the very reason why some grew suspicious of Li’s intentions. While claiming to be “divine” and “powerful,” he seemed to have had a rather drab life before becoming active in Qi Gong in 1991. After working in the police unit, he then worked in the Changchun Cereals Company as part of its security personnel.

It was his transfer to Changchun which triggered his involvement in Qi Gong. His colleagues did not see him practicing Qi Gong in the army or police unit; in fact, they say the rigid and hectic schedule would not have allowed Li to do anything other than daily tasks. Another source of suspicion is his neighbors’ description of him. They say that Li was short-tempered and never wanted to be bothered, so much that he built a structure in front of his door prevent people from getting through it. There was also an incident in which Li ganged up with a neighbor to hurt another man on their block. These claims were unfounded, however, and deemed to have been made-up by people who were displeased with the organization he founded.

If we were to ask Li, the reason people were unaware of his trainings and Qi Gong practice was that he always did it at night, and that the Cultural Revolution had made it risky to practice in public.

Discovering “Falun Gong”

From being nobody, Li Hongzhi became a well-known spiritual teacher upon discovering “Falun Gong,” or “Falun Dafa.” Li explained how “Falun Gong” is different from other Qi Gong practices in his interview with TIME:

"There are different practices of qigong in China and in other countries, but they are primarily aimed at healing illnesses or keeping fit and maintaining good health. I am teaching a higher level of qigong. It encompasses a greater content. It is like the Tao, which is known in the Western world."

Those who practiced “Falun Gong” were said to have been “miraculously healed” from their sicknesses, which is why the government grew suspicious of their organization. At first, they received media mileage; Li appeared as a guest on TV shows and was often sought for interviews. But, as his following grew, the Chinese government saw them as a threat.

Three years after it was founded, Li Hongzhi decided it was time for to bring “Falun Gong” abroad.

Reaching the United States – with controversy

Like his origins, his transfer abroad was questioned. The Chinese government demanded his deportation to China, but the U.S. government rejected the request because there “weren’t enough grounds for extradition.” From what the U.S. government understood, the conflict was religious by nature and did not merit punishment through deportation.

Li’s passport was revoked, however, which disabled him from travelling. What was remarkable was Li’s stance on the issue; when asked why he thought he was being singled-out, he had this to say:

"America is a country with democracy. You probably don't understand what it is like in a country that has a centralized government. The Chinese government knows that what I am teaching is good and that I am teaching people to have high moral values. They are only concerned because there are so many people practicing cultivation." (SOURCE: Time)

“Falun Gong” started at the parks – people were drawn to the practice because of the peace and well-being it promised. It is unique in eight ways:

1. A Falun is cultivated, rather than an energy elixir.2. The Falun refines the person even when he or she is not doing the practice’s exercises.3. One’s primary consciousness is cultivated, such that it is the person him or herself who obtains Gong energy.4. Both mind and body are cultivated.5. The practice consists of five exercises, which are simple and easy to learn.6. The mind is not used to direct anything, there are no associated risks, and Gong energy increases quickly.7. Location, time, and direction are not of concern when exercising, nor is how one concludes one’s exercise session.8. Protection is provided by the master's Fashen, so one needn’t fear harm from malevolent entities. (SOURCE: Falun Dafa)

The Falun, or “wheel” based on the Eastern belief, is planted in the body. While the Western belief is of an intangible spirit, Li explains that the Falun is concrete in the Eastern belief. Li was said to be capable of both teleportation and telepathy, and even the ability to cleanse sins. But we are not to judge Li Hongzhi, as his claims could mean many things. Some say he equates sins with sickness, and, since he can “heal” people by implanting the Falun, he is then able to cleanse the body of impurities.

One of the boldest claims he has made to date is in regard to the existence of aliens. According to him, aliens exist and they have influenced people through science and technology. He went so far as to say that their ultimate goal is to replace human beings because our body is a “perfect creation.”

The following statements are reminiscent of a science fiction plot:

"The aliens have introduced modern machinery like computers and airplanes. They started by teaching mankind about modern science, so people believe more and more science, and spiritually, they are controlled. Everyone thinks that scientists invent on their own when in fact their inspiration is manipulated by the aliens. In terms of culture and spirit, they already control man. Mankind cannot live without science.

The ultimate purpose is to replace humans. If cloning human beings succeeds, the aliens can officially replace humans. Why does a corpse lie dead, even though it is the same as a living body? The difference is the soul, which is the life of the body. If people reproduce a human person, the gods in heaven will not give its body a human soul. The aliens will take that opportunity to replace the human soul and by doing so they will enter earth and become earthlings.

When such people grow up, they will help replace humans with aliens. They will produce more and more clones. There will no longer be humans reproduced by humans. They will act like humans, but they will introduce legislation to stop human reproduction." (SOURCE: Time)

Most of what Li Hongzhi says is hard to believe. On the other hand, the principles of Falun Gong – truthfulness, compassion and forbearance – indeed promise a fruitful and peaceful life. His authenticity is debatable, but it wouldn’t hurt to practice those principles in our daily lives. On the contrary, all beliefs aside, we would very much benefit from doing so.

Organizations and Programs Supported

Beijing Health Expo

Ministry of Public Security

Public Security University

Awards and Achievements

1992: Began teaching Falun Gong

1993: Published “Falun Gong”

1995: Began teaching Falun Gong abroad and published “Zhuan Falun”

1996: Houston named Li an honorary citizen and goodwill ambassador for his "unselfish public service for the benefit and welfare of mankind"

2001: The Freedom House bestowed Li Hongzhi and Falun Gong with an “International Religious Freedom Award” for the advancement of religious and spiritual freedom

2000 and 2001: Nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize

2001: Ranked the most powerful communicator in Asia by “Asiaweek” and nominated for the “Sakharov Prize” by over 25 members of European Parliament

2013: Ranked by Foreign Policy Magazine as one of the “500 Most Powerful People in the World”

Received “Honorary Citizenship” from The State of Georgia and city of Atlanta

Mikhail Gorbachev is a politician, Nobel Peace Prize recipient and former statesman of the Soviet Union who is most famous for being the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, as well as the Soviet Union’s last leader before its dissolution and transition into the Russian Federation. A true hero of the Russian people, Mikhail’s efforts have contributed greatly to Russia becoming a democratic country and being saved from the clutches of Communism.

The life of Mikhail Gorbachev is a testament to the powers of education, strong will and the ideals of freedom. After starting out as a factory worker, Mikhail worked his way up to becoming the leader of the Soviet Union, and leading it out of corruption and totalitarianism to freedom and democracy. His efforts in promoting peace between Russia and the Western world have resulted in the country’s tremendous growth, and his unyielding commitment has made a significant contribution to Russia’s current state.

Call him an idealist, but that is okay for Mikhail – he actually loves it, because he believes that change happens through idealists. As he often says in interviews:

“Idealists make the world go 'round, since everything starts with ideas. Yes, ideas! Everything comes from them and everything begins there.”

Early Life

He was born Mikhail Sergeyevich Gorbachev on March 2, 1931, in the town of Stavropol, Soviet Union. He was the son of Sergey Andreyevich Gorbachev and Maria Panteleyevna Gopkalo, who were immigrants from the Voronezh and Chernigov Governatories, respectively. Mikhail’s father operated a combine harvester, while his mother was a kolkhoz worker. Both of his parents were “peasants,” and had a tough time meeting their needs due to the prevalence of poverty in their community.

In an interview many years later, Mikhail summarized his childhood in this statement:

“What I remember is a pre-war village, and the life of the peasants, since I myself come from peasant stock. It was a very poor village, the housing was very poor, and so were our clothes, and there was a great deal of work, and even more anxiety. So this was a very serious life experience for children.”

When Mikhail was only two years old, the Soviet Union plunged into a devastating famine that resulted in the deaths of millions. Known today as the “Great Soviet Famine of 1932-1933,” it ravaged Mikhail’s hometown, where nearly half of the village’s population, including his father’s siblings, died of starvation. And, although he was too young to remember much of it, he definitely saw the effects which lasted throughout the following decade.

Mikhail’s early life also gave him a glimpse of his future activism, as he witnessed the arrests of both his grandparents due to false charges (his paternal grandfather, Andrey, was sentenced to exile in Siberia for a crime he did not commit). The experience made a mark on the young Mikhail’s memory, and he would later come to question the validity of the actions of Russia’s Communist Party.

When World War II began, Mikhail’s father, Sergey, was drafted into the military to defend the country from invading German forces. In one instance during his three years at war, his family received a letter stating that he was M.I.A. (“missing in action”), causing Maria and her sons to despair for his fate. However, the letter was later proven false as Sergey returned from the war and resumed his job as a machine operator.

The war affected the young Mikhail greatly, as it affected most of his generation. Mikhail’s experiences and hardships from the war and his poor life developed in him a longing to make something of himself so he could change his and his family’s situation:

“Growing up in a peasant family, and my experience of life and the war—which I saw myself, all this blood and destruction, horrible destruction—all this had great significance. At that time, I began to feel the desire for something more; I wanted to do something to make things better. This was unconscious; it was just something that was brewing inside of me, without my really being aware of it.”

Working From a Young Age

Sergey was a great inspiration and role model for the young Mikhail, to whom he later passed on his knowledge and experience in operating machines. Unsurprisingly, Mikhail quickly learned how to operate the machines, as he inherited Sergey’s natural aptitude for mechanics. Mikhail started to work at a young age and, by age seventeen, he became the youngest recipient of the “Order of the Red Banner of Labor” for his active participation in bringing the bumper crop that year.

The Value Of Education: Mikhail’s studies

As Mikhail matured further, so did the desire within him to see change. He also came to realize that he would not achieve his goal if he remained a regular worker in a factory. And so, upon the suggestion of his father, Mikhail entered high school during his mid-teenage years:

“When my father said, 'If you want, why don't you go and try to get an education. If not, you can go on working the land with me.' And I said, 'I want to try.' I ended up at the university, and this was a completely different world, the start of a whole new life. The university was like a door opening up on the whole world. For a young man thirsting for knowledge—coming from the sticks, from the back of beyond, coming to the capital, to Moscow, to the university—it was cataclysmic.”

Mikhail certainly wasn’t wrong in his decision to study, as he proved to be a very bright student and capable leader. During his high school years, he impressed his teachers with his intellect and analytical skills, and became quite popular for his charisma and natural talent for speaking. He also showed great aptitude for politics, having become a candidate member of the Communist Party at a young age. Mikhail graduated from high school with a Silver Medal in tow, bringing great honor to his family who had never received the opportunity of a good education.

When Mikhail was asked in an interview what first inspired him to join politics, he answered by recalling his high school years when he was praised for his natural leadership abilities:

“Among my peers I was always the one who took charge. I liked being the boss, but the main thing was my friends trusted me, and that's why I say that most likely such qualities were innate in me. I always wanted to do something, accomplish something, or take the initiative. In school they kept choosing me to be the leader. I joined the Komsomol (Communist Youth League) while the war was still going on.”

After graduating from high school, Mikhail decided to further pursue his studies and entered Moscow University (the premier university in all of the Soviet Union at the time) to study law. Having a spectacular academic record brought great favor to Mikhail, who was immediately accepted for membership by the Communist Party of the Soviet Union. While at the university, Mikhail continued to demonstrate his leadership qualities and amazing intellect, and he earned his Bachelor’s degree with Cum Laude distinction in 1955.

Meeting the Love of His Life

It was in college where Mikhail met Raisa Titarenko, a fellow student to whom he immediately took a liking. After several months of dating, Mikhail and Raisa got married in 1953, and moved to Stravropol after Mikhail finished his studies two years later. They had one child, whom they named Irina Mikhailovna Virganskaya.

Mikhail’s Rise to Prominence: Working with the Communist Party

Mikhail quickly rose to fame and prominence after joining the Communist Party. After he finished his studies, he worked in the Stravropol territorial prosecutor’s office. He was later met by some of his friends in the Komsomol who had become full-time officers of the Communist Party. Remembering Mikhail to be a dedicated and organized individual during their Komsomol years, they invited him to become the Assistant Director of Propaganda for the local Komsomol in Stravropol, and he was soon promoted to become the first Secretary of the Committee.

In 1961, Mikhail was privileged to become the Komsomol delegate to the year’s Party Congress, where he was inspired by Nikita Khrushchev’s plan to surpass the United States’ per-capita production by restructuring the country’s production output. It was not long after this when Mikhail proved to be an exceptional leader, and quickly rose through the ranks to be named a member of the Communist Party Central Committee by 1971. Three years later, he was named Deputy to the Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union and the Chairman of the Standing Commission on Youth Affairs.

Mikhail’s political career flourished during the late 1970s and early ‘80s; in 1978, Mikhail replaced Fyodor Kulakov as the new Central Committee’s Secretariat for Agriculture after the latter died of a heart attack. The decision to name him as the new secretariat was made in honor of Fyodor’s choice of Mikhail.

Becoming a Member of the Politburo

In 1979, Mikhail became a candidate member of the Politburo (Political Bureau of the Central Agency), the highest Communist authority in the country, and was granted full membership the following year. Immediately after joining the Politburo, Mikhail became one of the institution’s most active and visible members, especially during the tenure of Yuri Andropov.

Mikhail’s position in the Communist Party gave him further opportunities to travel abroad, which allowed him to open his mind to the cultures and politics of other countries. During the ‘70s and ‘80s, Mikhail led several delegations to various countries, such as to Belgium in 1972, West Germany in 1975, Canada in 1983 and the United Kingdom in 1984, where he had the privilege of meeting with then-British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher.

Becoming Secretary General of the Communist Party

Ever since Mikhail joined the Communist Party, it was clear through his active participation and work achievements that he was a potential candidate to lead the party. This came to pass in 1985, when he was elected to be the General Secretary of the Politburo following the death of Konstantin Cherdenko, who had replaced Yuri Andropov a year earlier. This election made Mikhail the youngest-ever General Secretary, as well as the youngest member of the most powerful institution in the Soviet Union.

Not long after Mikhail became the party’s Secretary General, he began developing plans to reform not only the state of the party, but also the country’s economy, which suffered after several years under leaders who were often accused of corruption and totalitarian leadership. This was what Mikhail stated in an interview regarding his promotion to the position:

“I was relatively young, the youngest of the lot, actually, and I was a man with a modern education who already had a great deal of experience working independently. I had before me the experience of Khrushchev, Kosygin, and many other people who were punished for their initiative. They were seen as people who were unreliable, who undermined the system. I was given the post of General Secretary, tantamount to being a Tsar, and did not get drunk on my own power, but instead began to transform it.”

Mikhail’s “Perestroika” And “Glasnost” Policies

During his term as the Secretary General of the Communist Party, Mikhail developed several policies that were significant in the transitions between Soviet and [new] Russian operations. Among these policies was the “Perestroika,” which he described as the “development of democracy and self-government.” Then there was the “Glasnost,” which literally turned Russia into a democratic state with increased emphasis on freedoms that were not previously granted to the Russian people:

“I had democratic convictions since I was young, and they became my defining characteristic, my credo: devotion to democracy, respect for the worth of the individual. But the system had suppressed all that; it did not allow an individual the freedom to actualize himself. I did not accept this.”

Mikhail sought not only to improve the lives of his countrymen, but also the country’s relations with the Western world – especially the United States, which was the Soviet Union’s greatest enemy during the Cold War. When then-U.S. President Ronald Reagan came to meet Mikhail personally at the 1983 Geneva arms summit, he was amazed by the “warmth” and “moral dimension” which Mikhail carried. This led to further meetings between the leaders of the world’s two superpowers, and together they worked to end the Cold War.

From the time that Mikhail took the position of Secretary General, his actions had already hinted that he was going to bring a kind of change to the country that had never been experienced before. And, while there were those who opposed the changes, they could not stop Mikhail from enacting his policies because of his support from both Russian citizens and the international community.

Mikhail described in an interview one of the reasons that led him to change Russia’s system of government:

“When we found ourselves active participants in life, in work, and in politics, then we began to see a great deal and see it clearly. Little by little there came the awareness that in this country, this society, this system, no matter how hard we tried, no matter how sincere our convictions were, very little good could be achieved. Therefore the system had to be changed.”

The Manifestation of Change: From the Soviet Union to Russia

In 1990, the first stages of change began to manifest when the dissolution of the Soviet Union came into effect and the office of the Secretary General was removed, paving the way for the first free election of Russia’s first President. Mikhail won the election via split decision, receiving 59% of the votes. During his presidency, Mikhail further established peaceful relations with other countries, and he received the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

The peaceful transition for which Mikhail hoped did not go exactly as planned, as many of his previous allies in the Communist Party turned against him because of the changes he made. Furthermore, as a result of previous leaderships, Russia was falling behind both economically and politically, and many of its citizens were discontented because the changes were not happening as fast as everyone had hoped.

With the growing opposition of the Communist Party hindering the country’s drive towards progress, Mikhail decided to resign from his position as its leader:

“The Soviet Communist Party was a huge machine. At some point, it began throwing spokes into the wheels. It was the initiator of perestroika, but then it became its biggest obstacle. I understood that nothing would work without deep-seated political reforms. After suffering a defeat in the first democratic elections, the establishment joined forces and openly attacked me at a meeting of the party leadership. That was when I announced my resignation and left the plenary chamber.”

Eventually, Mikhail decided to step down in order to keep the peace in Russia. While he did not want the Soviet Union to be completely dissolved (he instead simply wanted to reform the government system), he was unable to stop it from happening after several incidents, including a coup in 1991, turned the public attention to his political opponent, Boris Yeltsin. By the end of the year, Mikhail announced his resignation as Russia’s President, and the Soviet Union was completely dissolved the following day.

Life after Presidency

After his resignation, Mikhail remained active in Russian politics and became one of the leading critics of then-President Boris Yeltsin. When President Yeltsin called for a referendum in 1993 to receive greater presidential powers, Mikhail called for new presidential elections entirely.

Throughout the rest of the 1990s, Mikhail remained active in politics, keeping watch on whoever was in authority to ensure they would not go beyond the power vested in them and turn Russia back into the totalitarian state it once was. In 1996, Mikhail established the Democratic Party of Russia in order to unite the various social democratic parties in the country. He eventually resigned as the party leader in 2004 after disputes with the chairman during the 2003 election campaign.

Aside from remaining active in Russian politics, Mikhail has also focused his time and efforts on a global scale by founding several non-profit organizations, including the “Gorbachev Foundation” and the “Green Cross Foundation,” both of which now operate internationally. He has also made significant contributions to peace and preservation of the planet, as he supports Al Gore’s campaign to prevent the global warming disaster.

When former U.S. President Ronald Reagan died in 2004, Mikhail represented Russia at the funeral. Three years later, at the funeral of Boris Yeltsin, Mikhail gave a eulogy for him, stating that Boris should be commended for bearing the difficult task of leading Russia into the post-Soviet era.

In 2008, he announced his plans of making a comeback to Russian politics by establishing the Independent Democratic Party of Russia, along with former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev. However, in spite of their efforts to register the party, the current government has not yet done so. Regarding the dilemma, Mikhail said:

“Putin wants to stay in power, but not so that he can finally solve our most pressing problems: education, health care, poverty. The people are not being asked, and the parties are puppets of the regime. Governors are no longer directly elected. Direct mandates in elections were eliminated. Everything works through party lists now. But new parties are not being allowed, because they get in the way.”

Current Activities: The ongoing fight for Democracy and Freedom in Russia

Currently, Mikhail is known as one of President Vladimir Putin’s critics. He has stated in various interviews that President Putin’s policies are leading Russia to greater corruption, less democracy and the domination of security officers. In a recent interview, he talked about how the current Russian government is slowly sliding back to its “old Communist” heritage:

“What troubles me is what the United Russia party, which is led by Putin, and the government are doing. They want to preserve the status quo. There are no steps forward. On the contrary, they are pulling us back into the past, while the country is urgently in need of modernization. Sometimes United Russia reminds me of the old Soviet Communist Party.”

Mikhail knows that much still needs to be done in order for Russia to move forward, and that is why he’ll always be active in the country’s politics. And while he faces strong opposition to his ideals of democracy and freedom, he is neither afraid nor deterred to stand up for what is right; he embodies the true Russian hero, boldly and courageously fighting for the good of his people:

“One can and must understand that one cannot do or know everything. Even God, who created us, doesn't lead us through life by the hand, but wishes and hopes that we will think and act in life in accordance with His commandments and expectations, and to rouse people to take the initiative, to have faith in themselves, and the desire to live as their conscience dictates. That means to awaken great feelings, which cannot help but make life into something completely different.”

Political Career

1978-1991: Member of the Secretariat

1979-1991: Member of the Politburo

1985-1991: General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union

1988-1989: Chairman of the Presidium of the Supreme Soviet

1989-1990: Chairman of the Supreme Soviet

1990-1991: President of the Soviet Union

Organizations and Programs Supported

The Gorbachev Foundation

The Communist Party Central Committee

Glasnost Policy

Perestroika Policy

Green Cross International

Earth Charter

Club of Rome

Club of Madrid

Raisa Gorbachev Foundation

New Policy Forum

Novaya Gazeta

Awards and Achievements

1947: Conferred the Order of the Red Banner of Labor

1966: Conferred the Order of the Badge of Honour

1971: Conferred the Order of Lenin

1978: Conferred the Order of October Revolution

1981: Conferred the Order of Lenin

1982: Awarded a medal “In Commemoration of the 1500th Anniversary of Kiev"

1987: Won the “Indira Gandhi Prize”

1989: Awarded the “Otto Hahn Peace Medal”

1990: Won the Nobel Peace Prize

1992: Won the “Harvey Prize” and received the first-ever “Ronald Reagan Freedom Award”

1993: Conferred the Freedom of the City of Aberdeen

1994: Received the “Grawemeyer Award”

1996: Received the “Courage of Conscience Award”

2001: Conferred the Order of Honour

2004: Won the Grammy Award for Best Spoken Album for Children (Peter and the Wolf)

2005: Won the “Point Alpha Prize” for his support of German reunification and received the “Athenagoras Humanitarian Award” from the order of St. Andrew Archons

2011: Conferred the Order of St. Andrew, the highest state decoration of the Russian Federation

Awarded the “Medal For Labour Valour”

Awarded the “Medal for Strengthening Military Cooperation”

Awarded the Jubilee Medal for “Forty Years of Victory in the Great Patriotic War 1941-1945”

“Life is not what bullets make it.” These are just some of the powerful words which echo throughout the land of Israel from the lips of Bishop Elias Chacour (also known as Father Chacour or Abuna Chacour), the first Palestinian to become a bishop of the Catholic church. Describing himself as a “Palestinian-Jew-Christian,” Elias is one of the leading voices of peace and reconciliation in war-torn Israel.

Bringing Two Enemies Together: Elias’s Lifelong Mission

Throughout his life and career, Elias has been an advocate of peace, seeking unity and reconciliation between the Arab and Jewish people. He has always voiced his opposition to violence, and has poured his efforts into promoting non-violent relations between the two peoples:

“We have tried violence. We have tried wars. We are sure that wars will bring wars. I am sure that the attempt to kill the Arab mayors on the West Bank in early June will bring more killings of Jews. I am sure. It’s a vicious circle. We know where violence leads. Even if we are not certain where we are going with nonviolence, let us try it. At least that. At least we can be sure with nonviolent action that, even if we are destroyed ourselves, we will not destroy any other person.”

When we look at Elias, we see a man who has spent much of his time and effort to bring two enemies together, never giving up on the hope that one day, Jews and Arabs will sit down at one table and be at peace with one another. And while Elias knows he could never solve the big picture, it does not prevent him from doing what he can to bring them together:

“I try to be a realistic man. I can do hardly anything to solve the Israeli-Palestinian problem. But what I can do surely is to create relations of mutual respect and friendship between a Jew and a Palestinian. It’s so humble, so modest. So I try to inspire the Jews and to convince them that they need to trust, because we are not their enemies. We are their victims. And we don’t want to stay their victims. We want to stop this victimizing and to start being partners — to build up this country together.”

Early life

Elias Chacour was born in 1939 in Kafr Bir’am, a small village in upper Galilee which was under British control at the time. His parents were of Palestinian descent, but were devout Christians and members of the Melkite Greek Catholic sect (a Byzantine Eastern rite church which was in communion with Rome). Along with his brothers, Elias grew up with tight family connections due to the values instilled in them by their parents.

Growing up in Kafr Bir’am was quite an adventure for Elias, as the town featured a mix of people from all three religions of British Palestine at the time – Christianity, Islam and Judaism – although the majority of the townspeople were Christians. Because Elias’s parents showed no discrimination against their neighbours who practiced different faiths, Elias came to develop a sense of equality and religious freedom that he would carry throughout his adult life. His parents were a powerful inspiration to the young Elias, who saw them as his greatest role models.

In the same year that Elias was born, war erupted in Europe and quickly spread across the continent. Millions of Jews were killed, but, fortunately, many also escaped the Holocaust. And although Germany was miles away from where Elias and his family lived, the devastation caused by Adolf Hitler was felt all over the world. When he was very young, Elias remembered how his father always told him and his brothers about the war, even though they were too young to understand it.

He recalled his father’s stories in an interview many years later:

“My father told us–we were six children–that in a country called Germany there had been “a cruel Satan killing Jews.” Of course, we knew little about faraway places. We Palestinians had come out from under the slavery of the Turks, and then the British Mandate, ignoring almost everything else in the world. But nobody could ignore Germany, even if that nation was at the end of the earth.”

Evicted From His Hometown: Elias’s Hard Experiences with the Jewish People

Little did Elias realize how the war would affect him and his family. In 1948, three years after the war’s end, Israel proclaimed its independence and called all Jews to return to their motherland. Having both Palestinian heritage and Christian faith played a big role in Elias’s unfortunate experience during this time because of the Jews’ history with both Palestinians and Christians, having faced severe persecution from the latter.

In that same year, Elias and his family were “evicted” from their home when Jewish soldiers came to their village in light of the Arab-Israeli War. While the Jewish soldiers promised to have Elias’s family and neighbours returned after a few days, it never actually occurred, and the inhabitants of Bir’am were forced seek refuge in the nearby town of Jish:

“When the soldiers came, he told us they would need to sleep in our beds, and he asked us to sleep on the roof. And we children gladly accepted this–it was fun to sleep on the roof! We thought of the soldiers as our guests. For the first time in my life I saw father slaughtering a sheep to prepare a feast. It was like this throughout the village, and the soldiers stayed in every house. It was the consensus to accept them. But a few days later, the keys to the doors were collected by an officer. For security reasons, he said, we must all leave for a few days... What was to be a few days became weeks and then months and now it is thirty years.”

This negative experience left a painful mark on Elias and his family, who, in spite of what the Israeli soldiers had done, remained in good relations with the Jewish soldiers who took their home. Wanting to return to Bir’am, Elias’s parents, along with other adults of their community, petitioned the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice to let them return to their village.

Although the court sided with the residents of Bir’am to let them return home, the soldiers in the village refused to let Elias and his neighbors do so. In response, the elders of the town of Bir’am made a second petition in 1951, which they also won; but before they could even prepare to return, Bir’am was reduced to rubble after Ben Gurion, the Israeli Prime Minister, ordered the town’s destruction.

There were tears in Elias’s eyes when he related these events in an interview:

“When the elders realized the Israeli army had fooled us... We applied to the Israeli Supreme Court of Justice in Jerusalem, and at last we won the case. But when we asked the army to implement the court’s order, the soldiers refused. Their own court! We applied to the court a second time, and in 1951 we won again. When this happened, the Prime Minister, Ben Gurion, ordered the destruction of the village. On Christmas morning it was bombed, and then bulldozers swept away what was left.”

With their hometown destroyed, the inhabitants of Bir’am had no choice but to remain in Jish, a town which had a majority of Jewish and Christian inhabitants. And although both the Christians and Jewish villagers remained friendly with each other, Elias knew there was still prejudice underneath it all, especially due to the fact that he was a Palestinian-Arab.

Called to Serve

Elias’s parents instilled in their children the importance of education, and did everything they could to ensure that Elias and his five siblings could receive quality education. At a young age, he already felt that his calling was to become a priest. When he was eleven years old, he decided to enter the seminary to become a full-fledged priest. Elias spent his primary and secondary educational years at Haifa and Nazareth, respectively, and was praised by his instructors for his exceptional intellect and compassion for others. After completing his secondary education, he was sent by the Melkite Church to the Sorbonne University in France, where he earned his Bachelor’s degree in Theology and Biblical Studies in 1965.

Elias returned to Israel after his graduation and was ordained by George Selim Hakim, who was the Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee at the time. A few months after his graduation, Elias went to the town of Ibillin for his transitional period; Ibillin was the birthplace of Miriam Bawardy, the most recent saint of the Melkite Church.

Although he originally intended to spend only a month in Ibillin, Elias changed his mind and decided to stay longer after witnessing the extreme prejudice faced by many of the Arab boys; there was a complete lack of educational opportunity for those beyond the eighth grade, resulting in many of them growing up without proper education. Wanting to make a difference for these children, Elias worked with community leaders to establish a school that was open to all children no matter their religious affiliation.

Higher Education and Philanthropic Work

Elias entered the Hebrew University in Jerusalem to pursue his studies further, and in 1968 he received his Master’s degree in Bible and Talmudic studies, making him the first Palestinian-Arab to obtain a degree in that course. Right after graduating, Elias returned to Ibillin to complete what he started and establish a youth center for kids of all religions. Elias’s work was so successful that he worked with the local government to build various institutions such as public libraries, kindergartens and tutorial programs in six villages in Central Galilee over the next three years.

When asked in an interview why he began building libraries, he answered:

“Three-quarters of our young people are under twenty-eight. I did some research earlier and discovered that every young person here, and it is true in other villages of Galilee, has six to eight empty hours a day–sitting on street corners, playing with stones, waiting for nothing–growing bitter thinking of the opportunities young Jews have in neighboring villages raised on confiscated lands. I wanted to find an alternative for this empty time. Each time a young person accepts a book, you have given meaning to twenty hours in his or her life, and perhaps have done more than that.”

Establishing Mar Elias High School and Publishing “Blood Brothers”

In 1971, Elias received his Doctorate degree in Ecumenical Theology from the University of Geneva. Upon returning to Ibillin after his graduation, Elias appealed to the Israeli Ministry of Education to obtain the authority to build a high school, but was denied several times. In spite of this, Elias continued his petitions and garnered the funds and support to open his own school. In 1982, and without a building permit, Elias opened Mar Elias High School with eighty pre-enrolled students.

Initially, the establishment of Mar Elias High School did not sit well with the local authorities, as they felt that “giving the Arabs in Israel education would result in them being [more] dangerous than simply giving them bombs to blow up Jewish stores.” As Elias said in an interview when referring to this:

“The prime minister’s adviser on Arab affairs once said, 'It is more dangerous to give Fr. Chacour the opportunity to provide Arabs with books than to give him a bomb to throw in a Jewish shop.' He’s definitely right. With a bomb you kill. With books you can make people aware of their own responsibility. But perhaps he thought of that only as leading toward vengeance. Responsibility can also lead people toward forgiveness.”

Initially, Elias faced many threats, even from powerful members of the community, to have his school shut down. Nevertheless, he continued to run Mar Elias High School, sometimes even personally bringing students home to protect them from harassment. It was not an easy task, but Elias was determined to ensure that he could reach out to the children in his community and give them quality education.

Eventually, Elias’s hard work paid off and Mar Elias High School was given a building permit to operate legally. Through the persistence of Elias and his team at the school, coupled with pressure from the international community, the Israeli government came to recognize and allow the school to operate without hindrances.

Since its establishment, Mar Elias High School has grown significantly; today, it provides quality education to more than five-thousand students, a mixture of Christian, Jewish and Arab youths who are not accepted into normal Jewish schools. Through Elias’s leadership, the school has experienced tremendous success and received numerous awards, including winning in the Hebrew language “competitions” of the 10th and 11th grade levels of all the schools in Israel.

Elias’s work in uniting people from different religions and cultural backgrounds was not confined to the school; as a priest of the Melkite Catholic Church, Elias was known by many to be very approachable, and did not discriminate against anyone no matter their faith. He worked with many others in Israel to promote unity between the Israelites and Palestinians, which later earned him the “Niwano Peace Prize.”

In 1984, Elias released his autobiography, “Blood Brothers,” which narrated his life from the time he left Bir’am to the establishment of Mar Elias High School. The book was well-received internationally and translated in twenty-seven languages, making Elias one of the most successful authors in Palestinian history.

Since 2000: Elias’s Success

Throughout the late-1990s and early 2000s, Elias continued to promote equality between Israelites and Palestinians and call on both to unite and live together peacefully. Even in the midst of threats and efforts to silence him, Elias continued calling for the restoration of friendly relations between them.

In 2006, Elias was ordained as the new Archbishop of Akko, Haifa, Nazareth and All Galilee of the Melkite Greek Catholic Church for his work and effort to unite people of all religions. In his speech during the ordination, he said:

“I did not dream of this responsibility and this great honor. My dreams were different. At sixty-five years of age my ambition was to dedicate the rest of my life to prayer, reading and writing, but like Paul on the way to Damascus the Lord seems to tell me that he is the one in control... No doubt my first reaction was tears of awe, of joy and of gratitude.”

Today, along with successfully running Mar Elias High School, Elias continues to fight for peace and call on both Israelites and Palestinians to end their conflict and start building a new Israel where people of all races, beliefs and cultures can live together in peace and harmony:

“You can take our lands, you can take our houses, you can kill us. But you cannot take our hearts with violence. Impossible! I hope you will try to have our hearts in the way described by Antoine de Saint-Exupery in The Little Prince–’to tame each other’–not with bombs, but with silence, contemplation, and one’s own conversion. We have to tame each other. There is no alternative if we are to survive. We go on killing until there is no one left, or we choose to survive together.”

Organizations and Programs Supported

Pilgrims of Ibilin

Mar Elias Educational Institutions

Galilee Peace Research Center

Awards and Achievements

1999: Received the “Chevalier de la Legion d'Honneur” from the government of France

2000: Received the “Marcel Rudloff Peace and Tolerance Award”

2001: Named “Man of the Year” in Israel and won the “Niwano Peace Prize”

2002: Received the “Peacemakers in Action Award” from the Tanenbaum Center for Interreligious Understanding

2006: Named the Archbishop of the Melkite Catholic Church of Haifa Akko, Nazareth and All Galilee

2013: Received the “World Methodist Peace Award”

Honorary Degrees

2001: Honorary Doctor of Divinity from Emory University, U.S.A.

2011: Honorary Doctor of Divinity from the University of Dayton, U.S.A.